Category: me

This week’s questions, hosted by Chelsea as always, are especially apt for me since I’m in the process of trying to choose a name for my daughter. I couldn’t resist answering them!

1. How did your parents decide on your name?
The way I remember it, they had a waitress at Bennigan’s named Kathleen and liked it. Fitting for an Irish restaurant. As for my middle name, Alexandra, it is after my grandfather who’s middle name is Alexander.

2. Do your initials (First, Middle, Last) spell out anything fun/funny?
Nope! I used to be KACS (my mom’s maiden name was one of my middle names) and now I’m KAF.

3. Did you take your middle name from childhood or did you take your maiden name as your middle name?
I took my middle name from childhood because I just really like it and thought it sounded best. I also wanted to symbolically give myself completely to my husband even with my name.

4. Are you or will you name your children thematically (ie. same first letter, all of same origin, etc.)
I don’t think so. The only thing we might do is go with all names with family significance.

5. Did you decide on baby names as a child? Did you stick to them or change your mind?
Definitely not as a child, but I had some names I liked starting in high school. I still like those names, but not as much as I used to.

6. Does your family have any names that have been passed down through generations?
There are a ton of Davids in my family including my uncle and brother (and husband). My dad’s name is Christopher Barry and my other brother’s name is Barry Christopher. My middle name is for my grandfather. My mom’s name is Paulina because her dad was Paul and her mom was Ina. There are probably more that I’m forgetting too!

7. Do you look at the meaning of the name or just the name itself?
I probably wouldn’t choose a name based on meaning but when I do like to know what names mean and it makes them that more special. Kathleen means “pure” and I have always treasured that.

8. Do you name pets with human names or with pet names?
Ours all have human names: Eddie, Cleo, and Oliver.

9. Are there any names that you have an affinity or dislike for based on a childhood experience/someone you once knew?
Yeah, I mean I wouldn’t name my children any of my ex-boyfriends’ names for one. I think it’s unavoidable.

10. What are some of your favorite names? Why?
I’m not going to share my absolute favorites since we’re in the process of choosing a name for our baby, but in general I like classic and Biblical names, nothing too unique or trendy.

Today I’m jumping in with these questions hosted by Chelsea:

1. What type of cell phone do you have and how would you rate it?
I have an iPhone 3G. I am in love with the iPhone in general but mine is the older model with the new software so it is pretty slow. I’m eligible for an upgrade but that would still cost me $200 which I just can’t justify. So for now, I’ll consider it an exercise in patience-building.

2. What has been your most serious injury?
I’ve never had a broken bone or needed stitches, but once in middle school my brothers and some friends and I were playing a hybrid game of tag and hide and seek on a half-built house in our neighborhood. (Stupid, I know.) I climbed up on the roof (again, so dumb) and got cornered there by whoever was “it” and the only escape was to jump off (this completes the trifecta of idiotic decisions I made that day). I ended up with a nasty sprained ankle that was impossible to walk on, but I was so embarrassed that I didn’t even tell my parents what happened, or I played it down bigtime. So I didn’t go to the doctor, and for the next week I was forced to hop around without crutches. By the end of it the other ankle hurt almost worse.

3. What is one movie you hate and why?
I despise raunchy comedies that have no redeeming value whatsoever. The prime example of this, in my opinion, is Superbad. I’ve only seen clips because I can’t even bring myself to sit through more than a few minutes of it.

4. How many email addresses do you have?
My personal email, my work email, and two old accounts that I no longer use but still have access to.

5. What website do you waste the most time on?
I don’t spend a lot of time Internet surfing, but I do try to keep updated with Twitter. I couldn’t do it without the app for my phone, though.

6. Which Mexican restaurant makes the best salsa?
Not technically salsa, but Los Cucos has some amazing green sauce. (Does green sauce have a real name? I don’t know.)

7. What is your dream car?
I’m sort of driving it, my Toyota Prius. Although mine is six years old and pretty basic, so my dream car would be the newest version with all the extras. I love owning a hybrid, and I like small cute cars.

8. If you could spend up to $100 with no strings or restrictions or guilt, what would you buy?
I’d probably put it toward vacation or maybe even toward a phone upgrade, but that’s a boring answer. A more fun way to spend it would be on a pedicure ($50), a new pair of yoga pants ($20), a magazine subscription ($15), a book ($10), and a drink from Starbucks ($5).

9. What is your favorite board game?
For party games my current favorite is Buzz Word and my all-time favorite is Catch Phrase. I’m also a fan of Scattergories and Cranium. Cranium is the only one that actually uses a board, though.

10. How often do you change your hairstyle?
I think it’s probably 1-2 times a year. Nothing drastic, but I like to grow my hair out for awhile and then chop it off. I usually choose a slightly different style each time.

I can’t let this week pass without commemorating an achievement that I’ve been striving for for years and which may possibly never happen again.

I grew up around sports. I played them, my brothers played them, and my dad and my brothers watched them. I always knew that when I got married it would be to a man who likes watching sports, not because I do (I enjoy watching a game occasionally, but not as a routine), but because that’s what I was used to from the men in my life.

All that to say: the men in my family are serious about sports. They border on obsessed. My aunt is the same way with football, but my mom and I just enjoy it as part of our family culture.

Nowadays, we have certain rituals. Every year we create a pool for the college football bowl games and we make our picks. The winner gets this gorgeous, custom-made trophy:

Then we pick the NCAA basketball tournament, and whoever had the trophy last has to mail it to the new champion. Being the winner also gets you permission to gloat and serious bragging rights.

Well, friends, my time has come.

Yeah, I totally won! My brother said something along the lines of it being “shameful” that since I only watched a handful of games the entire season, but he’s just jealous. I don’t want to think about the number of hours he spent all football season researching his picks, only to lose shamefully to a girl. And anyway, I don’t think I watched ANY games. Impressive, don’t you think? :)

I decided to jump back into Ten on Tuesday this week. These questions are hosted by Chelsea and written by Molly.

1. Is there a band/artist that you HATE?
I can’t stand listening to screamies in general. I have a special hate for Linkin Park because of some bad memories with an ex-boyfriend, and Nickelback or any band that sounds like them fills me with anger.

2. What do you do when you get a gift that you do not like? How do you react?
Pretend I like it and try to think of a particular thing about it that makes it a good gift and tell them so. It was most likely a sacrifice for that person to give it to me, and I want them to feel appreciated. I rarely return gifts.

3. How is your work office/cubicle decorated?
It’s a communal space and we all just kind of grab whatever computer station is available. So basically, I don’t get to decorate it. Examples of what I look at on the wall behind me at work: Board of Nursing contact info, intravesical chemotherapy powerpoint, intercom list, and what to do in case of bomb threat. Inspired yet?

4. Do you use all of your vacation every year?
I absolutely do; vacation is one of my favorite things. Right now I’m saving mine up for maternity leave which is practical but not very fun at the moment.

5. Did you have a real or fake Christmas tree?
We cut down a real one from a Christmas tree farm, and although I enjoyed that experience I admit that I really want a fake, pre-lighted tree. I just couldn’t stand all the needles everywhere.

6. If you could have anything for dinner tonight, what would it be?
It’s really hard for me to think about what to eat when I’m not particularly hungry, like now. But as of this moment I think I’d choose a cheesy, tomatoey pasta.

7. Do you bite your fingernails?
No, but I keep them very short. I couldn’t stand the unevenness of bitten nails.

8. How many cups of coffee do you drink each day?
I used to enjoy 2 cups every morning, but it started wreaking havoc on my stomach so I cut back to a once a week indulgence. Sadly, the last time I drank coffee (and a very weak cup at that) I was extremely jittery for hours and had terrible indigestion. So for now, coffee is out.

9. Do you have a nervous tick?
I was just talking about this with my family last night! One of my brothers bites his nails and the other one plays with his hair. The only quirk my parents could come up with for me is that I stick my tongue out when I’m concentrating. I don’t think that really counts as a nervous tick though.

10.  How often do you vacuum?
Most of our house is wood floors and I rarely vacuum it, but I sweep it several times a week due to dog hair. The bedrooms get vacuumed probably every few weeks. Not often enough, probably.